Bingo. The tubes are brown and translucent (suggesting that they are proteinaceous, not calciferous)-- so it's not a coral. So what has "polyps" that's not a coral or an anemone... gotta be a hydroid of some sort.

Though the parasite Hydroid/coral combo is probably a possibility, I doubt it actually.

Bingo. The tubes are brown and translucent (suggesting that they are proteinaceous, not calciferous)-- so it's not a coral. So what has "polyps" that's not a coral or an anemone... gotta be a hydroid of some sort.

Though the parasite Hydroid/coral combo is probably a possibility, I doubt it actually.

Oh, sorry wee-man... I just figure it was over when Obi-wan got it. I see how he earned that "reef guru" badge...

It was a tough ID for me too... I was obsessed about it for a whole day. Finally I got some help from a marine biologist I know. I had guessed hydroids even before I got hold of him, but I didn't know enough to be confident about it. He explained to me about the proteinaceous tubes and all that.